Eithne01,
The treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has changed significantly since the late 1990s, with the development and subsequent approval by the Food and Drug Administration of imatinib (in 2001), the first of a class of medications called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which target the specific abnormality that causes CML.
Before that time, patients were treated with other therapy, including interferon and bone marrow transplant, and had very poor outcomes.
Are you currently on any medication like imatinib? The neutropenia can be due to your current medication. You can ask your hematologist for G-CSF injection if you have persistent neutropenia. Patients with CML are immunocompromised and can easily acquire infections. Neutropenia also puts a patient in an immunocompromised state.
For now, it is very important to prevent acquiring any infection. You should avoid crowded places and persons with ongoing infection.
Good luck.
Hi.
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) is a blood disorder caused by an acquired genetic defect in the pleripotent stem cell. It has several phases: indolent chronic or stable phase, aggressive or advanced phase, and accelerated and blastic phase. The transition between phases may take years (on the average, 4 to 6 years from the stable phase to aggressive phase).
Is there a relationship between cancer and scleroderma? I am involved with a small scleroderma group and we have had about 11 deaths to cancer with scleroderma. My sister also had scleroderma and ended up with lung cancer. The doctor is talking about treatment if i get any closer to cancer.
I am not sure I am posting this in the correct place. I am not so good with the comp.
//www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/scleroderma/symptoms-causes/syc-20351952 Scleroderma is group of rare diseases that involve the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues and can involve the esophagus.
I would recommend calling your doctor about the difficulty swallowing. Let us know how you are doing.
It sounds like you're referring to scleroderma. It is a connective tissue disease that can cause the symptoms that you are describing.
One of the main treatments for scleroderma are corticosteroids (such as prednisone - that's what it's called here in the States, but not sure what it is called in Nigeria). There's no "cure" for scleroderma (that I know of anyway) - treatment of current symptoms and trying to keep new ones at bay are the usual course.
Average survival rates are generalizations, not applicable to a particular patient. The prognosis is relatively good. Newer techniques are being tried, including imatinib and stem cell transplantation.
All the best, and God Bless!
Are there any tests I should request?Also, I am wondering if I have Systematic Scleroderma. I do not have any skin issues at all. My hands are always cold;they do not change color or get painful. My right foot is always swollen on the top of my foot and 3 middle toes only. I have had this on and off for years and my GP doctor gave my a water pill to take. He thought I may have poor circulation in my leg.
I'm 18 and for a couple of years now my hands and feet, no matter what, are ice cold and normally pale blue in color. When I go outside my hands tense up, turn blue, and it hurts to move them and when they get warm again they turn a bright red. I researched this and found that is maybe something calls "Raynaud's phenomenom" which is a sort of syptom for scleroderma. My mother had scleroderma. Is raymaud's phenomenom what this problem is?
My father had Scleroderma, he felt like it started because he was exposed to agent orange in Vietnam. Is there a good chance I will get it too?
Yes, nucleolar pattern is seen in scleroderma and in CREST Syndrome which is a type of systemic scleroderma. The other possibility is systemic sclerosis, again quite related to scleroderma. The ESR will be high and RA factor may be positive.
Do discuss this with your doctor. Take care!
Anyways I know the inspire scleroderma site peeps talk about the GI effects of scleroderma all the time. Scleroderma is kind of rare and not everybody knows tons about it. There's a kind of sclero that has no skin involvement called sine scleroderma. Just an fyi.
ve read says that this means I will get scleroderma and I am freaking out! Does anyone with a nucleolar pattern have something other than scleroderma?
The nucleolar pattern is seen in scleroderma and in CREST Syndrome which is a type of systemic scleroderma. The other possibility is systemic sclerosis, again quite related to scleroderma. The ESR will be high and RA factor may be positive. Hence these two tests should be done. Please discuss with your doctor. Take care!
The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you.
The clinical relevance of autoantibodies in scleroderma.
"Anti-Scl 70 antibodies are highly specific for scleroderma and are seldom present in other diseases."
--Source: Sclero dot org
"The formation of autoantibodies against chromatin is the main feature of systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE)"
--Source: Triggers for anti-chromatin autoantibody production in SLE. LUPUS Dec.
Please google scleroderma and inspire. There is a sight that focuses on scleroderma. They have a very helpful and supportive group of folks.
Raynauds is often the first symptom of scleroderma. I don't have the exact list of symptoms you are describing and I am still in the catagory of undifferentiated connective tissue disease. But the symptoms you are describing especially the raynauds and "sunburnt skin feeling" and some others sound possibly suspicious.
For example, the anti-centromere and the anti-nucleolar patterns are fairly specific for scleroderma, but other patterns such as the speckled pattern may be seen in both scleroderma and other connective-tissue diseases.
Generally, the ANA test is used by the rheumatologist to help support or refute a clinical impression; neither the pattern nor the titer is used to monitor the course of disease.
A nucleolar pattern is typically indicative of scleroderma and the limited cutaneous form of systemic scleroderma better known as CREST syndrome (Calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, Esophageal dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, Telangiectasia).
About half of scleroderma patients develop hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is the second most common cause of elevated cholesterol levels after diet. Vitamin D deficiency is also very common with hypothyroidism.
Hi, I read your question and this could also be Lupus or Sjogrens. It's diffinetely some mix connective tissue disorder. I have these disease and my ANA was like yours. If your SCL70 was negative then probably it's not Scleroderma alto that really doesn't mean anything either. My mother had Scleroderma for 15 years and she always tested negative, GO FIGURE??? These are all my symptoms and these are my diagnosis.
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